This invention generally relates to systems for inspecting ophthalmic lenses, and more particularly, to a high speed, automated system for inspecting contact lenses.
Recently, several automated systems have been developed for producing ophthalmic lenses, and in particular, contact lenses; and, for example, one such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,839. These systems have achieved a very high degree of automation; and, for instance, the lenses may be molded, removed from the molds, further processed, and packaged without any direct human involvement.
Moreover, in these automated systems, contact lenses are, typically, made with a high degree of precision and accuracy. Nevertheless, on rare occasions, a particular lens may contain some irregularity; and, for this reason, contact lenses are inspected before sale to the consumer to be certain that the lenses are acceptable for consumer use.
Ophthalmic lenses may also be inspected automatically, and very reliable and accurate automated lens inspection systems are known. Some of these automated systems tend to concentrate on inspecting the peripheries or outer portions of the lenses. It is thus believed that these systems could be improved by providing a procedure for better inspecting the center portions of the lenses.